Gamestonk 2 - Changing my mind, and clarification

 In this episode I wanted to clarify some of the things I'd said in my previous episode about he Wall Street Bets Gamestop situation. Also, I've changed my mind about short selling, and through application of concepts from Austrian Economics, such as FA Hayek's local knowledge problem (correction: the theory I'm referring to is actually Ludwig von Mises' Economic Calculation Problem), market incentives with regards to loans, as well as the Federal Reserve, quantitative easing, the Fed Funds rate, and unfair market practices, I've come to conclude that I think that shorting stock is an overall economic negative.

"Gamestonk" and Short Selling

 

In this episode I wanted to discuss the "Gamestonk" situation.

Specifically I wanted to talk about "Short Selling" a stock, and the effects it might have on the stock market as well as a business' finances, both positive and negative, because I think that the general perception that short selling is negative is incorrect.

 That, however, is not to say that I am opposed to what WallStreetBets did. I don't know enough about the situation with the Gamestop stock, or what hedge funds were doing. I'm merely commenting on short selling, and its market effects, as I understand them.

EPI on the Minimum Wage

Note: About 20 minutes in I say that the demand for labor is lower because it's lower priced, but I meant to say it's lower because the price is higher.

Today, I saw a meme from the EPI (Economic Policy Institute) about the minimum wage, which is so old, I recall having seen it back around 2012 or 2013. This was before I had ever learned anything about economics, or ever considered myself a libertarian, and I remember, even back then, thinking that this meme immediately struck me as incorrect.

I decided to examine that meme again, due to it circulated again.

Here is the BLS data that I used for comparison: https://www.bls.gov/opub/reports/minimum-wage/2019/home.htm

 Here is the table for the age data:

 

Here is the meme I am referencing:

Bob Murphy on the Paris Climate Agreement

With Biden's re-entry into the Paris Climate Agreement, it seems worth sharing this Episode of the Contra Krugman podcast. 

For those who don't know, co-host Robert P Murphy is an economist, and former Energy Research Specialist for the Free Enterprise Institute of the University of Texas. 

https://contrakrugman.com/ep-90-trump-has-destroyed-the-planet/

Poverty in the US

 

I'd briefly mentioned in a previous episode how I think that the American poor are kind of spoiled by the high living standards that we have in the US, and don't really understand real poverty.

In this episode I'll elaborate on that, along with the fact that the poorest 20% of Americans have higher living standards than the poor in any other OECD nation.

https://fee.org/articles/the-poorest-20-of-americans-are-richer-than-most-nations-of-europe/

Albion Online, and Relic Salvaging

 

In this episode I talk about how, in Albion Online, buying relics that are priced lower than total value of the components received from salvaging them, then selling those components back onto the market to make a profit is good for the economy.

The Broken Window Fallacy, Girls und Panzer, and Bodacious Space Pirates

 

In this episode, I talk a bit about the "broken window fallacy" in economics, and attempt to relate that to the anime, "Girls und Panzer" and "Bodacious Space Pirates", as well as talk a bit about insurance.

Correction, and Comment on "Extreme Poverty Rates Plummet Under Capitalism"

 

 

 

In this episode, I first wanted to issue a correction on a previous episode, in which I said slaves could vote in the south, when it should have been that slaves counted toward representation in the south.

Next, I wanted to read and comment on this FEE article, by Robert P Murphy, about how "Extreme Poverty Rates Plummet Under Capitalism".

https://fee.org/articles/extreme-poverty-rates-plummet-under-capitalism/?fbclid=IwAR37H3Abm6Tdf4hfAeR38uMH1pxkupRpk607lMl9byJUugZqbvdtyEwIx8E